Dandelion Dust
by luna-magic-2005
Summary: AU. Sesshoumaru never believed in wishes... but it never hurt to try, right?
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer applies. I do not own Inuyasha.

All chapters were originally posted to Live Journal on January 3, 2012.

1st place winner in the One-shot Contest on Dokuga(underscore)Contest on Live Journal – One-shot #090, First Aid!

...

Dandelion Dust

Chapter One

By: Luna

...

"_We never know when we're going to meet the people that will change our lives until we finally meet them. And sometimes, we don't even know until they're already gone."_

- Anonymous

"Get out of here, you stupid delinquent!" Yelled a teacher, bitterness ripe in his tone. "All you do is get into fights – that's all you're good for!"

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Sesshoumaru, ignoring the teacher as he walked away. His shoulders were slightly slouched, his hands shoved into his pockets, and his cold gaze was fixed on the ground as he kicked at a rock in his path. He really didn't care what the teacher yelled at him; he's heard it all before, and it didn't really matter. The likelihood of him graduating junior high was slim, and he was tempted to drop out entirely since it was most likely useless for him to continue going to school.

_Go through the back garden if you want to escape Isa-sensei,_ Minako, the schools infirmary nurse, told him with a wink. _No one ever goes back there anymore._

With a scowl, Sesshoumaru did just that. His gakuen uniform was dirty and had blood smeared in some places. Though he didn't give a damn what others thought of him, he also didn't want to be stopped by more teachers. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he checked to make sure the bandages were holding over his bruised and bloodied knuckles. He learned fast that they healed faster if he just listened to what Minako-sensei told him, and since fights inevitably happened (that just happened to involve him) he liked to be as whole as possible until someone else decided to pick a fight with him.

The bandage on his left cheek hid a scrape and darkening bruise, but there wasn't anything that'd be able to hide the bruising at the corner of his mouth. He looked like he got the shit beat out of him – and he had. But it was all right, because his opponents got the shit beat out of them more, and that was all that mattered.

Damn cowards, he sneered, thinking of the four students who thought they could get the better of him. He was solidly kicking the crap out of them when the teachers interfered, but that was alright; they had learned their lesson by that time. He was known throughout campus as a delinquent, and students generally avoided him. He didn't have many friends – and the ones he did have he couldn't really give two shits about, so he supposed they weren't really friends at all, and merely people he occasionally hung out with when he felt like it.

Scowling, he rounded the corner of a building, and had to stop himself from almost walking over a girl that was kneeling in front of a small grouping of weeds that surrounded an oak tree.

Even as she blinked up at him, he scowled down at her.

She had the prettiest blue eyes he could remember seeing, unusual in most Japanese, surrounded by long black eyelashes. Her skin was slightly tan, her raven hair long and wavy, gleaming even from under the wide brim of her straw hat. She wore an apron over her green and white school uniform, and leather gloves covered hands he was sure were just as small as the rest of her. Pretty, he thought, until he recognized her face.

His scowl only deepened. "You're the class president, aren't you? Kagome-something. What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out of my way."

Though other students would have scurried away, she only looked delighted. "You know who I am? That's awesome! I didn't think you came to school enough to know. What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru-san?"

"That's none of your business," he hissed, his bandaged fists clenching. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

She cocked her head to the side, raising a slim, elegant brow. "You do realize there's a whole garden behind me where you can walk around… don't you?"

"I don't want to walk there," he growled, knowing he was sounding petulant, but he didn't really care. She'd do as he said. They always did as he said. "Get out of my way."

She seemed to consider that for a moment. "No," she said simply, then turned back to what she was doing.

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, frustration winning over his control. "For fucks sake, why aren't you running? Everyone else knows to be scared of me. Are you stupid or something?"

She sent him a smile from under the brim of her hat. "Nope! You just haven't given me a reason to be scared, I guess."

"You should be," he said darkly.

"Why? Are you going to hit me?" She didn't even look at him when she asked.

Clenching his fist, he raised it slowly, his narrowed eyes focused on her head. With a curse, he dropped it back to his side. "What the hell are you doing, anyways?"

"Planning world peace," she said as she patted moist soil around a flower.

Sesshoumaru stared blankly down at her. "Really?" He could see her as the type.

Kagome blinked up at him, then surprised him when she started to laugh. "No, you dummy. I'm tending the garden. Want to help?"

Rolling his eyes, he dropped down into the dirt and leaned up against the tree that grew amongst the flowers. "No."

Kagome only smiled back. "It's not really unmanly unless other people see you doing it, right?"

"You're here," he said, closing his eyes.

"That's true." She agreed. "I am _so_ gonna tell my friends about it. Like, 'Hey, Eri, guess what? The schools reigning bad ass planted flowers with me in the garden! Don't you think that's cute?'" Kagome giggled at the deadpan expression he gave her. "Like anyone would believe me. Don't worry, Sesshoumaru-san, you're secret's safe with me."

When he stayed quiet, Kagome seemed to fall into a contemplative mood, then perked up as if a light bulb went off over her head. "I know! You don't want to get your hands dirty!"

He was openly staring at her now, but Kagome only looked at him with a commiserating expression, as if she didn't see the blood stained bandages on his hands. "It's okay, Sesshoumaru-san, not all men are as comfortable with their masculinity either."

They stared at each other for a long moment, and when finally a corner of Sesshoumaru's bruised mouth quirked up, Kagome grinned. "So what are you doing back here, anyways? I never see anyone walk back here."

He shrugged, looking away from her, his cold golden-hazel eyes studying the flowers around him with detached interest. They may look like they were growing unsupervised, but he could tell that someone – Kagome – worked very diligently to make it appear that way. He was sure that otherwise the weeds would have choked out the flowers. "I didn't feel like listening to sensei anymore."

"Isa-sensei, right?" Kagome hummed in her throat in acknowledgement, her eyes on her flowers and not at the cool gaze of her current companion. "He's always yelling at you, it seems. At least Minako-sensei doesn't mind giving you first aid. I wouldn't worry – everyone hates Isa-sensei."

"He says I'm a weed that needs to be plucked," he murmured, reaching down for a dandelion hidden amongst the flowers. "Hmph. He can't get rid of me that easily."

"That's the spirit!" Kagome cheered, grinning when she caught another one of his blank, uncomprehending stares. "I think it's an admirable thing to follow whatever path you choose – even if others don't really agree with you."

"I fight those who challenge me," he said dryly. "And even those who don't. I can't believe that you'd agree with something like that. I don't care about others. I don't even care about you. I do whatever the hell I want, and no one can tell me differently."

"I _don't_ agree with fighting," she told him firmly. "But it's also not my place to judge, is it?" When he only stared at her, she continued. "I think you're smart, Sesshoumaru-san, and obviously dedicated because you find people to fight no matter where you are. But I also think you're going about this the wrong way."

"Oh, really?" He murmured, his sarcasm barely veiled. "And how would a good girl like you understand?"

She laughed. "I don't understand _you_ at all. But I think you should hear me out."

"By all means." He waved a negligent hand, absently tossing the weed away from him and watching as it landed on the ground between him and the girl.

"People, mainly Isa-sensei, think you're good for nothing. They think you can't learn, can't succeed, can't be anybody." Cocking her head to the side, she studied him with a small, confused frown. "So why are you proving them right?"

"Excuse me?" He asked her, his cool gaze settling on her, dislike plainly visible.

She seemed nonplussed. "I said you're smart, weren't you listening? Isa-sensei has already written you off. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you proved him wrong? I'm not suggesting a life changing experience, so don't look at me like I'm crazy," she said dryly. "But I also don't think attending a few lessons every now and then would hurt."

He couldn't believe she was even putting in an effort to convince him. Why? She had no reason. She didn't even know who he was except for his name and reputation. "What are you, some type of good-doer? You really were planning world peace, weren't you?"

Kagome snorted, then clapped her hand over her mouth at the sound. Before he knew it, she was practically curled over with laughter. "Oh my God, world peace. Yes, Sesshoumaru-san, I'm just that type of gal. World peace," she snorted out another laugh. "Wow, you're actually pretty funny, aren't you?"

Sesshoumaru wasn't pleased. "I wasn't trying to be funny."

"I know," she giggled some more. "I think that's why it's so funny in the first place. Here," she said, reaching for the plucked dandelion that lay between them, twirling it a little before brushing it under her nose. "Did you know that you can make wishes on dandelions?"

His flat stare answered her question, and she laughed a little more before she continued. "It's true. When they first bloom, they are this beautiful, radiant flower. People don't really think much of it, however, only that it's a weed that needs to be plucked." She smiled at him as she said it. "But did you know that dandelions are considered to be symbols of _good_ things? Of hope, summer, and childhood. "

"And wishes?" Sesshoumaru asked, sounding bored – but he was listening.

She pointed to another planted dandelion, one topped with a white, fuzzy head. "If you blow off all its seeds in one go, they say your wish will come true."

He thought it was all a bunch of bullshit. "Have you tried it before?"

"A couple of times," she admitted with a shy smile.

"And have your wishes come true?"

"Well, I still haven't gotten my pony, if that's what you mean." She said with a laugh. "But there are some wishes that I think will only come true if you work hard to _make_ them come true. And I think that maybe that's one of them."

She reached for the fuzzy dandelion, and held it out for him with a smile. "Well, Sesshoumaru? Would you like to make a wish?"

Sesshoumaru looked away with a scowl, his chest feeling uncomfortably tight, but he didn't know why. "I only wish to be the strongest. No weed is going to grant me that but myself."

"Hmm. Then I'll make a wish for you." Sesshoumaru watched, amazed when she held the dandelion in her hands like a prayer, her eyes closed in concentration. "I wish for Sesshoumaru to be happy – the real kind of happy, and not just what he thinks it is."

Sesshoumaru looked away… but wasn't able to resist watching as she blew the dandelion dust off the stem, and watched with her as they were gently carried away by the breeze.


	2. Chapter 2

Standard disclaimer applies.

Dandelion Dust

Chapter Two

By: Luna

...

"_A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world."_

- Leo Buscaglia

Sesshoumaru made it into high school.

No one quite knew why the delinquent student started attending lessons, and no one quite remembered when he started to show up in the first place. Only that, by the time graduation rolled around, he was there to receive his certificate with the rest of the graduating class.

High school wasn't all that different from junior high. He still got into fights; maybe not as often as in junior high, but with enough regularity for his reputation to follow him. Students still avoided him, and he still didn't care because he still didn't talk to anybody – except for _her_. No one believed that they were going out; Kagome was such a bright, happy girl who was thought well of by most students in her year, and the complete opposite of the cold, moody Sesshoumaru – but he still afforded her a type of respect he didn't give anyone else, not even the teachers.

Nobody saw them talking much. Sometimes you'd see them in the courtyard; Kagome would be talking and Sesshoumaru would just be standing there, looking to all the world as if he couldn't care less about what she was saying. But when they passed each other in the hallway, he'd always nod in acknowledgement to her greeting, and he would be the one to move out of her way as she passed.

That made others in her class somewhat leery of her as well. What kind of hold did she have over the violent Sesshoumaru? No one knew – and were not brave enough to ask.

Sesshoumaru, for his part, still didn't give two shits about what others thought. He was sure they were whispering about him, but he didn't care. He attended his classes – most of the time – and ignored everyone else the rest of the time. He was irritated, however, since the current source of his frustrations wasn't where she was supposed to be. And while she may not be where she was supposed to be, he still knew where he could find her.

Unlike junior high, the high school offered a gardening club, and Kagome was quick to join. When she wasn't in class, he knew he could find her in the clubs garden. He stomped through the gates, then stood scowling at the top of Kagome's head. "What are you, an idiot?"

"Wow, this sure feels like déjà vu." She said dryly, tipping her head up so she could see him from under the brim of her floppy straw hat. Sesshoumaru had accidentally smashed her old one, and had bought a cheap white floppy hat out of an irritating sense of guilt. For whatever reason, Kagome loved it, even if she did look somewhat ridiculous in it.

She raised a brow at his fulminating glare. "What can I do for you, Sesshoumaru?"

They had long stopped adding honorifics to their names. Sesshoumaru should have minded, but for some reason he never did. Her flip tone only had his eyes narrowing even more. "What's this I hear about you taking over class cleaning duty – _again_."

"Well, gee, Sesshoumaru, it might be because I wanted to. Again." She sat back on her haunches and smiled at him, a pair of shears in her hands.

"You're an idiot." He told her. "Why?"

"Because Kouki-san asked me for a favor." She said simply, shrugging a little. "I don't really mind."

"He's just taking advantage of you because you're nice," Sesshoumaru snapped, glaring at her hotly. "Why do you let them walk all over you?"

Kagome smiled a little at Sesshoumaru's display of temper. He was so cold in front of others, so biting and cruel. No one would have ever guessed that under such a cool exterior was such a hot tempered guy. "I don't agree all the time," she told him, rolling her eyes. "Just some of the times."

"They're going to think you're a push over."

"I _am_ a pushover," she said with a laugh. "Besides, why do you care? It's my fault either way."

Sesshoumaru's scowl darkened. "I don't."

Kagome looked down at the small rose bushes she had been tending, using the hats brim to hide the roll of her eyes. "Whatever you say."

"Hmph. I still think you're an idiot."

"Yes, you tell me so almost every day. Hey, can you do me a favor please and grab that bag of fertilizer? It's a bit heavy for me." Kagome asked, keeping her voice carefully bland.

Sesshoumaru's scowl never left his face as he looked around. "Where?"

"Over there." Kagome said, pointing. Sesshoumaru lifted the bag easily, then dropped it at her side.

"Thanks," she tilted her head up, slanting her eyes at him with a smirk. "Pushover."

She couldn't help but laugh at his expression. "See what I mean? I don't have to do anything. He asked for a favor, and I agreed. Besides, you have detention today, don't you? You said you'd walk me home. At least now I'll have something to do besides just sitting around doing nothing."

Because he couldn't really argue with that, he didn't. "Next time, just hang out here if you're going to wait for me," he told her irritably. "Then at least you'd be doing something you'd really like to do."

"Very true," she murmured, her hat once again hiding the gentle smile on her face. Sesshoumaru probably didn't realize it, but he always showed her he cared whenever he was pissed off at her. She absolutely loved that about him, but he probably wouldn't appreciate it if she told him she thought it was cute.

Since she was at the right angle, she only had to look over to see his knuckles, and tsk'd quietly in reprimand at the bruises already formed. "You got into a fight again."

His expression had already cooled off; he was once again the image of a cruel, icy delinquent. He glanced at his fists disinterestedly. "So?"

Leaning back, she ran her eyes over his face. "Well, it looks like they're the ones that got the bad end of it, so I guess that's all right."

He knew that she'd prefer it if he didn't get into fights at all, but since that wasn't very likely, there wasn't anything he could do about it unless he started letting others beat the shit out of him – which wasn't going to happen. "They came onto me. It's their own fault."

"Hmm," she murmured, sealing the bag of fertilizer. "Anyways, I'm done here. You came here because lunch was starting, right? Sorry I wasn't in class."

"Whatever. It's not like I care." But he still held his hand out to her and helped her stand up, then carried the fertilizer to the shed and waited until she locked the supplies away.

Sesshoumaru may lie to her, but he never lied to himself; he did care about her – _everything_ about her, even her stupid flowers that she loved so much. She had a sharp mind and an acerbic tongue, one she delighted in using on him to win every single argument they got into. She was the only girl he knew that wasn't scared to stand up to him; had never, in fact, been scared to stand up to him. She always seemed to be there, even when she wasn't necessarily needed. He… appreciated her. He wasn't really sure how to name what it was exactly that he felt for her; all he really knew was, if she ever had need of him, he would be there for her, too.

She was always so strong, so he never thought that his kind of strength would be needed – until, one day, it abruptly was.

"_I'm just putting away some supplies the club president bought, Sesshoumaru. I'll meet you by the front gate as soon as I'm done putting them away."_

Sesshoumaru was waiting for her as promised, but by the third time he checked his watch he was already pissed off at her. It didn't take this long to put away a bag of crap, Sesshoumaru thought irritably, checking his watch for the fourth time. With a scowl, he pushed off the wall he had been leaning against, back tracking his way to the back of the school where the gardening club was.

It was getting pretty late; she had her classroom cleaning duty to attend to, and Sesshoumaru had been in detention again for fighting, and there were only a few students and teachers left on campus. Shadows were lengthening, and a slow, uncomfortable churning in his gut made him walk even faster to his destination.

When he heard voices coming from just beyond the gates of the garden, he felt himself go cold.

"So, this is the girl that wimp Sesshoumaru is so infatuated over." Sneered a voice, one he recognized as the kid he got into a fight with earlier – the one that landed him in detention. "I wonder how he'd react if he found out his little play thing got broken?"

"He'd kill you," was Kagome's voice, so steady and strong, floated clearly through the gates and into Sesshoumaru's ears. No hesitation; just strict conviction.

Sesshoumaru's heart hurt a little at such faith, even as he tried opening the gates only to find them locked.

"Heh. I'd almost want him to. Then such an arrogant bastard like him can rot behind bars for the rest of his life."

"Damn teachers," muttered a new voice. "In junior high every single one hated his ass, called him a menace. Here they all seem to want to baby him. What's so special about him? They should have kicked his ass out a long time ago."

Sesshoumaru judged the height of the gate, then tried to remember what kind of lock it had. Taking a deep breath, he rammed it hard, and almost face planted at the ease in which it flew open. He faced the trio of shocked faces – but his eyes were trained on Kagome's strained features; at the fear in her eyes, but most especially at the bruise that was already forming on her pretty face.

And at the hand that had paused on its journey up Kagome's blouse.

Even as the students charged at him, one carrying a pipe, Sesshoumaru went blank with rage. By the time he came to, he was holding up one of the students by their shirt collar, and blood was pouring down his face from a gash on his forehead right above his left eye, most likely caused by the iron pipe they tried to use on him. The student – he didn't even know what the fuck their names were – was staring up at him with terror in his brown eyes.

"D-demon!" He cried, looking into the stark empty eyes that stared at him, seemingly completely soulless.

"Do you really think I'd allow you to touch what I consider precious?" Sesshoumaru hissed, bringing the students face closer to his.

The student jerked away, falling to the ground on weak knees. Helping his groggy friends to their feet, they stumbled away as fast as they were able. Sesshoumaru kept his head down, his bangs covering his expression. He didn't want to face Kagome; he wasn't sure he'd like to see the expression she must be wearing on her face. Sesshoumaru hadn't blanked out like that in a long time, and the fact that he had in front of Kagome unnerved him more than he cared to admit.

Suddenly, gentle fingers touched his face, uncaring of the blood she was getting on her hands. "C'mon, Sesshoumaru," she whispered softly, her fingers gently guiding his face towards hers, trying to force him to make eye contact. "Let's go to the infirmary. I need to take care of something precious to me."

Sesshoumaru's startled gaze jumped to hers, and she linked her fingers with his with a smile, ignoring the bloody knuckles. "Let's go, shall we?"

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything. But he didn't let go of her hand, either.


	3. Chapter 3

Standard disclaimer applies.

Dandelion Dust

Chapter Three

By: Luna

...

"_Come live in my heart, and pay no rent."_

- Samuel Lover

Sesshoumaru and Kagome were on the move, both often running into each other in their small, cramped apartment. Various books were stacked haphazardly around the small room, as well clothes that were draped over the back of the couch, having been pulled out, then quickly discarded.

They moved into a one bedroom apartment shortly after getting married a few months after they graduated high school. Sesshoumaru ended up being the only one able to go to college – Kagome opted not to go, but they both took up jobs to help pay for him as well as rent. Rent was tight, and university expensive, but they had been managing it fairly well – until Kagome became pregnant.

Sesshoumaru tended to be overprotective, and had wanted her to quit her job once they found out. Of course, Kagome refused; they'd never be able to make payments to the university if she didn't help out with her part. After all, he only had four more months until he obtained his degree, and then if she really wasn't up to it, she'd quit. Sesshoumaru graduated shortly afterwards, and Kagome did indeed quit, but it was more for his sake than for hers. They moved into a smaller, but cheaper, apartment, and they still had boxes that were packed all over the place.

They were both excited; it was Sesshoumaru's first job interview – at a real, full time position at a successful company. Not many graduates were offered jobs straight out of university, so they were eager to make a good first impression. Sesshoumaru only had one suit, but Kagome had washed and pressed it carefully so it was perfect.

Sesshoumaru was more nervous than he was letting on; he was on his third attempt to put his tie in order, but all he was accomplishing was making it a tangled mess – again.

Laughing, Kagome stopped her mad dash around the apartment, setting his new pair of shoes that would go with his suit on the genkan, then stepping up and over to him to bat his hands away. They were both so excited at this new prospect that they were constantly bumping into things – and each other – as they struggled to move around each other in the cramped space. "Here," she said with a laugh. "Let me do that."

Her eyes were shining with love and excitement as she stared at his tie, talking him through the steps. Sesshoumaru wasn't listening; he was staring at her. He still couldn't believe that they were married, that she was pregnant with his child or that he had never felt happier or more fulfilled. It was true that they were little more than poor and struggling still, but Sesshoumaru woke up every morning feeling incredibly satisfied.

"This is how you do it, see? There," she said, patting his chest where his tie was.

Sesshoumaru reached up and ran a finger down her cheek. "It's perfect," he murmured.

"Of course it is, because I did it!" She sent him a saucy wink, cocking her hip to the side and resting her hand on it. Sesshoumaru didn't have the heart to tell her that she looked a little ridiculous with her hip cocked on one end and her rounded belly jutting out the other – especially when he thought it looked cute. She grinned broadly. "What would you do without me?"

_Nothing_, Sesshoumaru thought, watching her flounce away to get his briefcase. He didn't think he'd be able to survive without her; she meant everything to him.

Kagome came back in and handed him his briefcase, but was then was distracted by the scars on his hands. Kagome looked worried now. "You don't think they wouldn't hire you because of this, do you? I mean, that was such a long time ago!"

The hands of a fighter often made a lot of people nervous if they bothered to look in the first place, and the thin scar above his eyebrow helped add an element of danger to his already stoic persona. Though he was frowning, he tucked his hands away. "I'm sure they won't notice."

When he stepped down to the genkan and toed on his shoes, he turned back to her with a raised brow. "So? What do you think?"

"I'm thinking I wanna drag you back to our futon and make wild, crazy love with you, Mr. Soon-to-be Salary Man. Get outta here, before I make do on that threat!"

Sesshoumaru didn't smile according to other peoples standards, but Kagome knew his warm expression meant that he was smiling at her. "Yes, ma'am." With a salute, he was off, the door shutting quietly behind him.

Kagome smiled, standing still, soaking in the moment. When her gaze landed on the camera sitting on the desk, she cursed and ran for the door, turning it on as she went. "Sesshoumaru!" She yelled, gripping the banister outside the apartment door and staring down at her husband below. "Cheese!"

She snapped his picture before he realized what she was doing, then grinned down at him. "Good luck!"

When she came back inside, she was still grinning. Sesshoumaru hated getting his pictures taken; she would either have to blackmail him or catch him by surprise if she ever wanted to take one. As she set the camera back down, her eyes strayed to the calendar tacked on the wall above it. Seven years, she thought. They had been together for seven years. Of course, they only truly started going out halfway through high school, but she was counting from the day of their very first meeting, that fateful encounter in junior high.

He had changed a lot since he started college, she thought with a smile. In college nobody really knew him, so he had no more reason to pick fights, or have others pick fights with him. That, and he was too busy with his part time job as well as studying to really care either way. He still frightened others with his stone-face – but what she saw when she looked at him was completely different than what other people would see. Where she saw a warm, loving husband, others saw a cold, anti-social man – but Kagome was just fine with that.

Except for today. She really wanted him to get the job; they needed that extra money.

She would be sad at the same time, since she understood that if he did get the job he'd be working more often and come home late, as one always would when at a starting position. But she also knew that this was just a step; he was trying to provide for his family, and Kagome would support him every step of the way.

She'd start by making dinner, she decided. She should clear up the disaster they called home, but she was too excited to clean. Picking up her purse, she slipped on her shoes, then locked the door behind her. She was humming as she walked down the street towards the bus stop, but she had to stop when she noticed a few dandelions growing at the base of a wall, out of the tiny seam that ran between the sidewalk and the wall itself.

She had a thought to make another wish, but decided against it.

She was already too happy for words. She didn't need to make one for happiness any more.


	4. Chapter 4

Standard disclaimer applies.

Dandelion Dust

Chapter Four

By: Luna

...

"_Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts."_

- Author Unknown

"Sesshoumaru, I want to work. Like, _now_."

Sesshoumaru blinked up at his wife, his newspaper momentarily forgotten in his hands. "Pardon?"

Kagome scowled. "Don't you 'pardon' me, mister! I'm going stir crazy. Look at Kazu!"

He looked at his son Kazuhiko, and resisted smirking at the small Mohawk he now sported. A few weeks ago Kagome started changing Kazu's hairstyle every few days. Sesshoumaru had to save his two year old son from the razors; Kagome was getting ready to shave his head. After all, he reasoned, if she shaved his head she wouldn't be able to play with his hair anymore. His office walls were covered in bright paint and beautiful, brilliant designs. Kagome would paint his office, and then repaint everything white so she could start again. Kazu's nursery was also a showcase for her artwork. He had known for a while that Kagome was becoming a little stir-crazy, but had decided to wait for her to come to him before he said anything.

"Well?" She demanded, her hands on her hips.

Sesshoumaru blinked again. "Okay. Where would you like to work?"

With a huff, she plopped on the couch next to him, staring moodily across the living room. Sesshoumaru had quickly been promoted in the two years since he started working at his company, and he was now a manager. Because of careful hoarding of his savings and Kagome's support, they had saved enough to buy a small house in a decent part of Tokyo. Sesshoumaru wondered if she was staring at the wall in front of her because she was thinking about painting another mural or if she was deciding on what to tell him.

"Cashier."

Sesshoumaru looked over at her again. "What?"

She pushed her shoulder against him in a halfhearted shove. "My part time job. Haven't you been listening?"

With a frown, he finally set aside his newspaper. "What are you saying? You already have a job?"

"No," she pouted, crossing her arms a little. "But… I did go to a job interview." She looked over at him a little guiltily. "They called me back and want me to start on Friday. Sorry I didn't tell you, but I was going stir crazy. I need to do something besides stay at home with only a two year old to talk to. I found myself talking to Sango in baby talk. Next thing you know I'm going to start blowing bubbles in my milk."

"You _do_ blow bubbles in your milk." Sesshoumaru told her, his lips twitching.

"See!" Kagome grabbed his hand, widening her eyes earnestly. "I'm already teaching Kazu bad manners. Why don't I work and _you_ stay home?"

"Ah, no." Sesshoumaru bent down when he felt Kazu grasping his pant leg, and pulled him into his lap. "The way I'm going I can make it to director in a few years, and then we can buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. How about we hire Rin as a babysitter?"

Kagome's brow furrowed worriedly as she watched Kazu play with Sesshoumaru's loosened tie. "Sessh. She's fourteen. Is she even old enough to watch babies?"

"She's the oldest of five, and she needs some extra income to help her family out."

"Wait." Kagome pulled back, frowning suspiciously at him. "How do you know that?"

Sesshoumaru picked his paper up again, straightening them with a quick flick of his wrist as he started reading again. "Last Friday. When you went for your job interview. Minobe-san told me he was very excited to have you on board."

Kagome stared at him. "So you're saying you knew already? And made arrangements already so that I can go?"

"Hnn."

"So I was walking around feeling guilty for not telling you yet for nothing?"

Sesshoumaru smirked, his eyes on his paper. "Hnn."

Kagome punched his arm, then hugged him, Kazu smooshed in the middle. "I love you."

His papers fluttered to the floor unnoticed as one hand stroked down her hair, the other down Kazu's silky black head. "I know."

Kagome jumped up, suddenly energized. "Okay! Now I'm gonna paint our room!"

As she skipped down the hall, Sesshoumaru met Kazu's eyes with amusement, a smile tugging at his lips when Kazu mirrored his gesture of raising one eyebrow. "Well, don't look at me, she's your mother."

Kazu grinned happily, speaking in gurgles that Sesshoumaru pretended to understand.

Sesshoumaru nodded with a sigh. "Yes, I know, and she's my wife. Well, since she's going crazy, I guess us men can cook dinner." He shot another look at his son. "You _can_ cook, right? Because I can't cook worth shit."

"Don't say shit, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome hollered from their bedroom.

"So says the person that just said it." Sesshoumaru pressed his finger against Kazu's nose, pushing it in gently like a button. "Don't say shit, okay Kazu? Because then she'll blame me."

Kazu started gurgling again. Sesshoumaru just hoped that one of those gurgles didn't mean "shit."


	5. Chapter 5

Standard disclaimer applies.

Dandelion Dust

Chapter Five

By: Luna

...

"_Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch."_

- Walt Whitman

It was almost funny how his world was destroyed on such a beautiful day.

It was almost like a scene from a movie, the kind that Kagome always dragged him to. The sun was shining after a night of nothing but rain and everything glittered as if dusted with little drops of sunshine. Kagome had taken a picture of it, and then grabbed Kazu for an excuse to jump in the puddles. With drops of water clinging to her hair and skin, Sesshoumaru had thought that she glittered with those little drops of sunshine as well.

Kagome had run over, scooping up Kazu on the way, and then hugged Sesshoumaru with one arm while they both held Kazu between them. With his eyes closed, getting lost in his wife's kiss, a flash of light had him jerking back and blinking at the camera Kagome had been holding up with one arm. When he smiled wryly at her, since she was always trying to take pictures of him, another flash went off. That morning Sesshoumaru was late to work, because he was too busy chasing his wife to get her God-awful camera and destroy it.

"I rue the day I got you that for Christmas!" He had said, catching her at last. With a little wiggle of suggestion, she dropped the camera down the front of her shirt. If Kazu hadn't been staring up them with wide, curious eyes, Sesshoumaru might have reached for it and not have gone to work at all.

He remembered their sweet kiss goodbye, and a careless wave to Rin who was sitting on her porch step watching them with a smile. But what he remembered most was the phone call he received at work around eight o'clock. He had called Rin earlier to let her know he'd be working late that night, and to tell Kagome when she got off work. He was still in the middle of a project when he finally bothered to answer his phone, which had been ringing for the last ten minutes, but he hadn't bothered to answer it until then.

"Is this Sesshoumaru Taisho? Kagome Taisho's husband?"

Sesshoumaru frowned at the unfamiliar voice even as he jotted down a few notes for the presentation that was due the next day. "It is. Who's asking?"

"My name is Detective Miroku Takahashi, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Sir, I'm sorry to say that your wife was a victim of a robbery at the convenience store she was working at. She was shot three times, one grazing her head, and she's being held at the…"

Sesshoumaru couldn't hear anymore through the buzzing on his ears. His vision went gray, and he felt like he was about to throw up as the room started spinning around him. His chair went crashing out behind him as he stood on shaky legs, then realized that he would pass out if he didn't start breathing again. "Where?" He gasped out, his voice sounding foreign to him. "Where is she?"

"Sir, she's being held at the Jutendo hospital in downtown Tokyo." The detective's voice was full of sympathy – Sesshoumaru didn't want that, not right now.

"Was she alive?" He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe…

"She was alive when she left in the ambulance. Is there anyone else we should notify?"

"She has a mother," Sesshoumaru grabbed his car keys and wallet, forgetting everything else as he started walking to the elevator, only to be jerked back. He forgot he was using the company's phone since he didn't have a cell phone. "I'll contact her."

He dropped the phone and ran, ignoring the strange looks from his colleagues and the calls from them asking where he was going and what was wrong. Sesshoumaru didn't answer them; he just took the stairs since the elevator was taking too long, and then broke a few laws as he sped towards the hospital.

He was already half-mad with panic, and then could only pace when the nurses told him Kagome was in surgery and he couldn't see her. It took him a while to be able to pick up the phone, first to call Rin and to see if her mother would mind watching Kazu for the night, and then to call Mrs. Higurashi, Kagome's mother. That, perhaps, was the hardest of all, mainly because Sesshoumaru never truly felt accepted by the older woman. Kagome would always call him an idiot for thinking it, but Sesshoumaru still doubted that such a nice family could accept someone like him so easily.

He was pacing the waiting room when Grandpa and Mrs. Higurashi showed up, looking pale and drawn. She immediately came to him; Sesshoumaru expected a slap for letting this happen to Kagome, but all she did was wrap her arms around him and cry. He stood stiffly, not really knowing what to do, and slowly brought his hands up to pat his mother-in-laws back.

"I'm sorry," he said, surprised that the sandpaper voice was his. "It's my fault."

Mrs. Higurashi pulled back. "What are you talking about?"

"She wanted to work. I shouldn't have… I told her I'd be late all week, so she took an extra shift. I shouldn't have worked so late. I should have gone home. Kazu…"

His thoughts were scattered, his mind gone. He couldn't think. He just wanted Kagome with him. Mrs. Higurashi took his hand and led him to the waiting chairs, then had him sit down, all the while holding his hand. "It's not your fault, Sesshoumaru. Accidents happen."

"This wasn't an accident," he said hollowly. "Some bastard shot her."

Mrs. Higurashi only leaned against him and said nothing. Grandpa didn't say a single word; he only stared at the opposite wall of the waiting room, his wrinkled face more stoic than Sesshoumaru ever remembered it being.

It took hours before the doctor approached them. "Sesshoumaru Taisho?"

Sesshoumaru was on his feet immediately, his eyes focused on the doctor's face. "My wife? Is she okay?"

"She made it through the surgery." He vaguely heard Mrs. Higurashi sobbing in relief behind him, but Sesshoumaru's attention never wavered from the doctor's face; he could tell there was more. "There was severe trauma where the bullet grazed her head… there doesn't seem to be any brain damage, but she might seem a little disoriented when she first wakes up."

"When can I see her?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

The doctor's voice was tired. "Not tonight. Go home, get some rest. She'll be moved to another room tomorrow, and you'll be able to see her then."

Sesshoumaru came back the next day. And the next. And the next.

But Kagome never said anything. She never even opened her eyes.

The doctors said she fell into a coma, but Sesshoumaru wasn't even sure what that meant. Was it like the movies, where she would wake up and not know him? Did it mean she was brain dead? He didn't know, and panic surged through him so sharply his heart started to hurt at how hard it was pounding.

"If a person suffers severe head trauma, the impact can cause the brain to move back and forth inside the skull." The doctor was explaining to him. "The movement of the brain inside the skull can tear blood vessels and nerve fibers, which causes swelling in the brain. A person can become comatose immediately or gradually. If an infection or other illness causes the coma, for example, the person might run a high fever, feel dizzy or seem lethargic before falling into a coma. If the cause is a stroke or severe head trauma, they can become comatose almost immediately."[1]

"What you saying? How do you even know she's in a coma? Maybe she's…" Sesshoumaru stopped. Even he knew he sounded ridiculous, but he couldn't accept what the doctor was telling him.

"There are good signs, Taisho-san. She may be unconscious but she's still responsive. The patient does respond to stimuli, with reactions such as movement or increased heart rate." [1]

"Kagome," he gritted out, willing the buzzing in his ears to fade. "Her name is Kagome. Not 'the patient.'"

"Ah, yes, of course, Taisho-san. My apologies. You can visit her now, if you'd like. I'll take you to her."

Sesshoumaru followed without another word. He didn't even register when the doctor left; his eyes were trained on the still, pale form of his Kagome, lying on the hospital bed with so many tubes sticking out of her. Sesshoumaru pulled a seat up next to the bed, and then gently picked up her cold hand, chaffing it gently between his.

"Kagome," he whispered, watching her face. "You promised me you wouldn't leave me. I'm holding you to that promise, so please, please wake up. You once asked me what I would do without you… Endure, Kagome. All I can do is endure. Don't leave me. Don't leave _us_. Kazu needs you too, you know. Kagome…"

Bowing his head over her hand, he stayed there for a long, long time. He barely registered a light touch on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake.

"Taisho-san, I'm sorry, but please wake up." Another shoulder nudge. "Visiting hours are over."

Sesshoumaru slowly opened his eyes, staring down at the hand he still held in his. After a moment, he stood, and then listlessly watched as the nurse straightened Kagome's blankets and checked the monitors. "Can you…" The nurse looked over at him with a sad, inquiring expression. "Never mind."

He was going to ask the nurse to give her bath; he wanted to bring Kazu in to see her, but then thought better of it. She still was bandaged from where she was shot, and the bullet graze across her temple was a nasty sight; Kazu didn't need to see his mother looking so broken. He walked home, even though he drove. It was late, and there were probably thugs out there waiting to rob him. But, he thought with an empty smile, it was exactly what he wanted.

He found them a few blocks away from the hospital. With a cold, sinister smile, he dropped his suit jacket to the ground, and then reached up to loosen his tie as the three men started circling around him. "Well?" He asked, his eyes lit up eerily by the yellow glow of the streetlamp. "What are you waiting for?"

Then, at least for a little while, Sesshoumaru lost himself in the fight, and for a few short moments it was all he knew, all he felt, all he wanted to feel. It wasn't enough. Even when he stood above the three fallen men, it wasn't enough. Because everything still came back to him; all the pain, the panic, the _loss…_

Sesshoumaru took off his tie and shoved it in his pocket, then bent to pick up his jacket off the ground.

Then he went home to his son.

...

1: All medical information was gained from:

http : / / science. howstuffworks. com/ environmental /life /human-biology / coma3. htm


	6. Chapter 6

Standard disclaimer applies.

Dandelion Dust

Chapter Six

By: Luna

...

"_All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."_

- Henry Ellis

Three months had passed since the robbery, and Kagome has yet to wake up. Sesshoumaru managed to hold onto the house and make the hospital payments, but it was tough trying to pack more work into an already compact schedule in order to be home by three. Since Rin was in school, she couldn't watch Kazu during the day, so Sesshoumaru found a good day care center for the hours when he had to work. Kazu's day care closed by four, so in planning on picking him up by three, it gave him a little leeway just in case he was running late.

Today was one of those days; Sesshoumaru was dreading picking him up in the four o'clock hour; he hated the looks he received from the mothers; a mix of "aww" and flirtation, sometimes mixed with a little pity. It was vexing, especially since they considered him a widower. He never talked to them, but since he never took off his wedding ring and they've never seen his wife, they assumed. Sesshoumaru made it one minute before closing, and he winced slightly in guilt when he saw that Kazu was the only child left.

Midoriko-san looked up in surprise when the door burst open, and then blinked at the cold gaze of the man that was barely able to hide his worry. She looked at his haggard face; so tired, so wan, and the dark circles that had formed shortly after he started taking Kazu here.

She smiled as she picked up his son and walked over to him, handing him over to Sesshoumaru with a serene, commiserating smile. "It must be tough being a single dad. Not everyone would make so much effort for their children, you know."

"I'm not." Sesshoumaru let himself relax when Kazu immediately dove under his neck for a cuddle. He was getting so big… was he this big yesterday?

Midoriko blinked in confusion. "Not what?"

"Single." He held up left hand, coolly watched as Midoriko stared at it blankly. "I am married. My wife is… sick. She's in the hospital right now. I don't appreciate people making assumptions about me."

Blushing a little, Midoriko stepped back. "Yes, of course. I apologize." Still, she couldn't stop watching him. It was very rare for her to see a father take such care or pay much attention to his child, especially since she was used to only mothers picking up their children at her daycare. Sesshoumaru was obviously working himself to exhaustion trying to make whatever situation that was happening at home work, and she admired him for it. "Have a good day, Sesshoumaru-san."

Sesshoumaru ignored her. All he wanted to do at this point was go home.

Kazu was starting to speak more clearly. Sesshoumaru was actually beginning to understand him too, which slightly worried him since half the time his words still ran together and they sounded like gibberish. He wondered if he was only adapting to his sons speech or becoming fluent in Baby. He knew what Kazu's different cries were too; when he was hungry, scared, or simply bored, Sesshoumaru was able to differentiate between them.

Was this how all moms were after a while? Was this how Kagome was? He remembered that when Kazu talked to Kagome, she would always listen with an intent, loving expression on her face, and answer back every single time with an answer that apparently matched whatever question he had asked. At first he thought she was only humoring their son; now he wondered if maybe he had been mistaken, since Sesshoumaru didn't humor him often and yet he still found himself understanding what Kazu was saying.

When Sesshoumaru got home, the only thing he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't help but start to feel guilty every single time he had to leave his son at the day care center, so when they got home, he made sure to devote at least a full hour of play time with Kazu, even if it meant that sometimes it would leave him frustrated. Once their hour of play time was over, Sesshoumaru would turn on a movie and start making dinner, and then after wards take a bath with Kazu and put him to bed, but not before reading him a bed time story.

It was tradition now. A schedule of events that had to happen every night, because Kazu expected it now, and Sesshoumaru loved his son. So, when the two of them arrived at home that night, Sesshoumaru set aside his briefcase; the old, battered one that Kagome bought him so many years ago, took off his jacket and tie, and then he played with his son. He would have to wait until Kazu was asleep before he started working on the assignments Sesshoumaru brought home to work on every night. If he didn't, he'd never be able to finish his work during the day in order to pick up Kazu on time.

It was okay, he assured himself. He could survive on four hours of sleep every night. It would all pay off, because surely Kagome will wake up.

Soon.

That weekend Sesshoumaru dressed casually in slacks and a light purple polo shirt Kagome had bought him, insisting that it didn't affect his masculinity at all. Sesshoumaru made sure Kazu was dressed nicely as well.

After the first month, Sesshoumaru wasn't able to visit Kagome every day and still manage work and Kazu, and since she showed no indication of waking up, he had to curtail their visits to the weekend when Sesshoumaru wasn't working and the day care center was closed. He had to stop by the photo center and pick up the developed pictures he had turned in the day before; he wasn't sure what was on them, but he was sure Kagome would appreciate being able to see them when she woke up. For her, he would even make an effort to organize them in a photo album, even though she'd probably rearrange them when he wasn't home anyways.

After he picked up the photos, he sat in the car with Kazu and slowly flipped through them, his throat tightening with emotion at every scene. It was their family; the pictures ranged from when Kagome had been bored while pregnant and started painting her large belly like a grapefruit, all the way to Sesshoumaru's birthday, his first day as manager at his company, and to the last happy memory he had with his wife.

He and Kagome were kissing, little Kazu held between them. She had been playing in the rain, and had little drops of liquid sunshine clinging to her skin; her long, beautiful eyelashes, and you could tell she was smiling even through the kiss. The next picture had been the one Sesshoumaru had tried to erase; she had captured a rare moment, where his face was relaxed and happy, and he was smiling down at her with an expression that went beyond love; like she was everything precious to him.

He never thought that he would be able to survive in a world that didn't have Kagome in it, but every day when he woke up and had to wake a sleepy Kazu and get him ready for day care… somehow he found the strength to keep going. To keep living, because his son was so young and needed him. Because Sesshoumaru felt so broken that he needed Kazu, too. Kazu, who looked so much like his beloved mother.

These pictures were important. Sesshoumaru tucked them away safely, but then found he had to clear his throat a few times before he got himself under control and pulled away from the curb, heading towards the hospital.

After Sesshoumaru parked and unstrapped Kazu from the car seat, he started walking towards the hospital, his steps getting slower and slower. Every time he came here he felt the same thing; the eagerness to see the woman he cherished, yet dread knowing that everything would be the same: Kagome would still be sleeping, and Sesshoumaru would still be alone.

As soon as they crossed the parking lot and hit the sidewalk, Kazu ran towards the entrance, already knowing where to go, and stopping just short of going inside to wait for Sesshoumaru. Kazu waited, but then became confused because normally his Daddy would be there already, to swoop him up in his arms and carry him the rest of the way to see Mama. Turning around, he looking in confusion at his Daddy, who was looking down at a fuzzy white flower growing up between the cracks of the sidewalk.

Sesshoumaru couldn't look away.

"_When they first bloom, they are this beautiful, radiant flower." _

It was just a weed. A weed that grew in even the hardest of soils, the rockiest of grounds. Children loved the flowers, while adults cursed them whenever they plant themselves in someone's garden. But it was this flower, wasn't it, that brought him to Kagome? It couldn't be that strange then, that these flowers made him think of her? Sesshoumaru's heart had been the same; hard, rocky, and inhabitable. But then she came, and suddenly she was everywhere inside him, surrounding him with love. A weed that would grow no matter how hard a person tried to get rid of it, until eventually… it was something Sesshoumaru didn't think he could live without.

"_But did you know that dandelions are considered to be symbols of __**good**__ things?"_

"Kazuhiko, come over here." Sesshoumaru gestured for his son to come over as he crouched over the flower. Obediently, Kazu came. Curiously, he peered down at the flower, then up at his father's face.

"_If you blow off all its seeds in one go, they say your wish will come true." _

He reached down and carefully plucked the dandelion, his heart hurting as he remembered. "Your mother once made a wish for me…" He cleared his tight throat in order to continue. "She… she wished for me to be happy. It took a long time for me to realize it, but that wish eventually came true. Because she became mine," he stroked a finger down Kazu's face, a face that every day reminded him of his wife. "And then Kagome gave me you. So I… I think we should make a wish, don't you? Let's wish for your mommy to wake up soon." _Because I don't know how long I'll be able to last without her._ "Are you ready?"

Kazu cheered, then gurgled out a question Sesshoumaru wouldn't have been able to understand three months ago. "We have to blow all the white seeds off. Let's do it together, okay?"

"_I wish for Sesshoumaru to be happy – the __**real**__ kind of happy, and not just what he thinks it is."_

Kazu closed his eyes and concentrated on his wish, and for a moment Sesshoumaru could only stare and marvel at the child that he created with Kagome. Then he closed his eyes as well, and wished with every fiber of his being.

Then, together, they watched as the seeds were gently carried away by the breeze.

And, somewhere in the hospital, a certain someone opened her eyes for the first time in three months… and smiled.

~FIN~

**Authors Note:** Thank you for everyone that has followed this mini story, your kind words have helped motivate me the entire way. Please feel free to check out my other works! Hopefully you'll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. Adieu!


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